


Lie=Truth

by SeveredData



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action, Drama, Gen, M/M, Ninja, OC, Romance, Shinobi, Transgender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:14:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27736687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeveredData/pseuds/SeveredData
Summary: Sometimes a single moment can become a revelation. And yet the next could turn you on the path to a devastating end. Yui's life is about to make some drastic changes, most made in seemingly unimportant ways but will they come back to bite? Read and find out in this completely OC tale based in the world of Naruto.
Relationships: OC/OC





	1. Actions=Consequence

It was a nice, peaceful morning for those in the land of wind. The early dawning light seemed to seep over the buildings of Sunagakure with weight making it shine beautifully. Most all was quiet, the people waking and taking in the relaxing aura of such a morning, the bird's chirps soft and drifting on the wind as though they were one. The only disturbance came from the window of a second story apartment.

"Beep Beep Beep!" the alarm clock blared as a hand slid out from under the covers and flailed around the night stand "Beep Beep Beep Chink!" The arm then retreated under the covers leaving no flesh exposed. One could only guess at who might be under the big comforter that was fluffed up like a large ball. Suddenly the blankets flew back to reveal a head full of white messy hair.

She rubbed at her sleepy eyes and then she remembered. Her face lit up, eyes wide with a big, bright smile. Today she would get to train with her sensei. Not with another jounin or even chuunin, but with her own sensei whom she adored. You see, her sensei was very busy lately. He was the best ninja in their entire village and so of course there were many things for him to do. Because of his high standing and lack of time she was often left to work with the other sensei in the village. She didn't like it much. It was too obvious that they didn't want her around, but today would be a good day.

She jumped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom grabbing some of her usual training cloths. The hot water and steam felt nice on her skin but it couldn't wake her anymore than she already was. She nearly skipped out of the shower she was so excited. She dried her hair with a towel and let it fall as it may against her back. Her clothes were her standard silky, black shorts that stopped right above her knees, a loose grey-blue shirt that went down just as far with both sides slit up to the waist for mobility and a scarf-like neck. Last but not least she took her headband and used it to attach her weapons pouch leaving the sand village crest for all to see at her waist. A quick snap of her shuriken holder, zip of the shoes and she was out the door.

'I wonder what he'll teach me today,' she mused as she walked the stairs down from her 2nd floor apartment. Her destination wasn't far. She was to wait for him at the Karamaki restaurant just down the road. She wondered if Haruhi would be helping her father today. Haruhi was the daughter of , the restaurant owner. She wasn't much older than Yui. Just about 5 years or so. Haruhi and Yui were not particularly friends but at least she seemed neutral. In fact it was Haruhi who initially told Yui about her sensei, the Kazekage.

When Yui first came to the sand village it was miserable. People always staring and no one to play with. After a while the stares seemed to fade but the judging and condescending looks remained. They were frightened by her and her kekkeigenkai but as a small child she didn't yet understand. How could she? She was only 8. She simply felt like they hated her. Then one day she noticed another whom they also distanced. He was the Kazekage and they held respect for him of course but everyone kept their distance. He was alone just like she was.

Eventually she met Haruhi Karamaki, the girl who didn't seem to care one way or the other who she was. The girl's father on the other hand seemed to loath her for some reason and would get angry with Haruhi if he saw the two together. Because of this the two generally avoided each other but after Yui noticed Hideki she just had to ask her about him. By the end of hearing the story of how he had been treated like her, due to his mischief, but then rose to be a respected leader she felt inspired. She didn't care to be in charge of the village but she was tired of being helpless. Her desire to fight back was what drove her to become a ninja.

When Yui brushed aside the cloth strips hanging in the doorway a bell chimed and she was greeted with a friendly tone. "Welcome", the man said, turning to see who had entered. His smile dropped and his words turned cold. "Oh it's you", he sneered.

"Ah! Don't talk to customers like that!" Haruhi scolded her father. Yui wondered why she even still tried. They both knew her father would never change. Yui could probably save him from a whole army of enemy ninja and the man would still detest her.

'I don't even care' Yui thought with a smile plastered on her face. 'Today is going to be great.' She found her way to a seat by the window and sat quietly looking out. After a few minutes she shifted position to lay her head down on her arms. A few more minutes and she wondered when he would come. 'He's late', she thought 'Is he not coming?' A quick look through the window confirmed her suspicions.

Yui watched silently as Aiko walked the street to the restaurant. Aiko walked with purpose, her long blond hair trailing behind her. 'Hideki sensei didn't show again' Yui frowned and laid her head back down on her arms. Once again she would be pushed off on others. 'This isn't fair' she thought 'surely there's got to be some way I could help him with his Kazekage duties, so why does he call his cousin to take me instead of letting me help?' Her inner thoughts were cit off when she heard the footsteps in front of her. She lifted her head and tried her best to keep her face blank of emotions. She often wore this mask but today it didn't seem to work.

"Hey" Aiko said with a disappointed look on her face. When Yui didn't reply she continued. "I know you were supposed to see Hideki today and I'm sorry about the switch up." Yui didn't believe her. She just remained silent. "He really wanted to be here but you know how it is", Aiko paused as if remembering an old memory, "He is the Kazekage after all."

The silence seemed to linger until Yui stood and, following Aiko, asked "What are you gonna have me work on today?" Her voice was flat and dull. Today was supposed to be great and yet still so early in the morning it was already ruined. 'I never get to see him anymore. Did I do something wrong?' she wondered.

"I'm not sure but we'll find you something, " Aiko told her and they spent the rest of the walk in silence. The walk wasn't long. In fact they could hear the other genin ahead before they ever saw them. There was laughing, arguing, and even the sound of metal against metal as some of them practiced with weapons. When they turned the corner a girl called out from across the flat sandy field.

"Aiko sensei!", the girl almost sounded desperate "Will you please help me with this?" They looked over to see that the girl was all wrapped up in a wire with a fresh red mark square on her forehead. Obviously the girl had no clue how to use the weapon and Yui thought to herself that if it had been a life or death situation, the girl would only have lowered her chance of survival. Yui too didn't know how to operate it and wondered about joining in the demonstration that was sure to come but instead she made a mental note to learn it later. She wasn't in the mood to be around others and so when Aiko walked off stifling a laugh she didn't bother to follow. Maybe she could see enough from a distance to give it a try later.

As she watched she could feel people staring and did her best to ignore the whispers. It was just another normal day in the sand village for her and she figured it couldn't get any worse. She was wrong.

"Hey look guys it's the mangy mutt from the mist village." Yui recognized the voice and turned to face him. Kohaku stood with two other boys who were both laughing. Yui wanted to knock the smug grin off his face but she recalled all the times Hideki sensei had scolded her for fighting the other genin so she held her tongue. She would just have to bear it.

"You mean the Kazekage's pet", another boy chimed in, "She follows him around every chance she gets." He started laughing. "Hell he's just as much of a freak as she is."

"You don't talk about my sensei like that!" Yui snapped at them. She was furious. Talking about her was one thing, but to bring Hideki into it was another.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" Kohaku taunted, walking closer as his words grew meaner. "You really think he cares about you? About any of us?"

"No. Stop.. You're wrong!" Yui lashed the words at him and as she watched his grin grow so too did her rage. 'Stay calm. Breath. You know he's lying', she thought to herself 'You know Hideki sensei cares. You know he's always on your side...But Hideki sensei is never here. He's always brushing me aside'

As she fought with herself Kohaku only saw that he was really getting to her. Just a little more and maybe she would finally give up on being a shinobi. The proud sand village didn't need mist ninja to back their ranks and she didn't belong here with them. Now was his chance to get rid of her. "You really think he loves you?" his words came out flat and cold. "He doesn't even know how to love. Face it! He doesn't want y-" Yui couldn't let him finish. If he finished his sentence she thought she might lose the last little sliver of her sanity.

At first the boys around him were confused. They didn't understand why he had stopped mid sentence. They hadn't even seen the water move through the air to cover his mouth. The first boy to look around and see Kohaku eyes wide and silenced gasped and stumbled back before running off across the field to fetch Aiko. Kohaku, now having been left along with Yui, was panicking. He thrashed his head left and right, up and down, pawing at the water covering his mouth but to no avail. 'What the.. It won't come off!' Kohaku's eyes were wide when he looked up.

Yui was slumped over staring at the ground. She'd had enough and in that moment she just wanted it to end. Not just the stares and whispers but everything. She was tired of always being alone even as no one would actually leave her alone. She was tired of it and she wanted it to end. She wanted him to die. She struggled, lifting her arms slightly to the side as if they were heavy like lead and the people around them began to gasp and watch in horror as water began to rise. It came from pots and pans, glasses and buckets slowly rising from it's containers to hover in the air around her. The people around them were shocked and scared of what would happen next. A few even ran away and in that moment Kohaku, also gripped by fear, turned and tried to make a run for it. He managed to make one step before the water engulfed him and lifted him off the ground in a large sphere.

"Stop this!", Aiko yelled as she ran to them. Yui heard her but she was far too gone to care. Quickly Aiko pulled two kunai out and threw them at her hands hoping to break the hold but they were easily caught by a stream of water wrapping around Yui like a living arm. "Yui stop! Let him go!" Aiko unsheathed her sword and prepared to attack.

"Not for you!" Yui snapped and lifted her arm toward Aiko. "I'm done listening to you." As commanded, the water rushed at Aiko with force and all she could do to hold her ground was stab her sword deep into the ground and hold on tight. Now while she had Kohaku trapped and Aiko held down she weaved her hand signs smooth and quick, knowing the water wouldn't keep Aiko busy for long. As she stopped on the sign of the tiger she took a deep breath before blowing out the chakra-filled air and sending a torch in the direction of Kohaku in his water prison. The water began to heat up as it swirled around him sending up steam.

'Am I.. gonna die like this?' Kohaku wondered. His fight was over. He could feel his skin starting to burn and as his last bit of air left the world went black. The water assault on Aiko had finally reached an end but instead of giving her another Yui focused everything she had into keeping her flame for as long as possible.

Aiko didn't even try to pull her sword out knowing it would waste time that Kohaku simply didn't have. She took off as fast as she could toward the assaulting genin and readied a kunai for impact. Thunk!

There was another gasp from the onlookers as they took in what had just happened. Aiko saw her kunai stuck in the wall of sand in front of her and knew immediately that her cousin Hikeki had arrived. Yui had been encased in a barrier of sand and that meant her attack was over. Aiko ran to Kohaku just as the Kazekage spoke up. "Enough" His voice was loud and clear, snapping Yui back to her senses and the water lingering in the air and holding Kohaku prisoner dropped to the ground lifeless just as his body was.

As the sand dropped back to the ground Yui looked around her at the damage she had caused. She could see villagers and shinobi alike staring at her and whispering to each other. Some were even hiding from her. She looked up to where her sensei, Hideki, and Aiko were talking. Aiko was obviously pissed. She looked shaken and angrier than ever while she talked to Hideki who never took his eyes off of Yui. It was making her uncomfortable and she knew after what she just did he would be mad at her too. She didn't want to look at him anymore and so she turned to where Kohaku had been. As she watched several medical ninja were doing their best to try to stabilize him. Their hands with a sort of light green glow traced over his chest and neck and down his arms. Every bit of skin to be seen on him was pink and red with burns.

'What have I done?' Yui thought to herself 'He was just another genin like me.'

As her sensei walked up she feared what he might do. He had never yelled at her before but she had also never done something so bad. Sure she would get in a fight or two and he would scold her but this was a new low for her. She had never tried to kill anyone before. She nearly flinched from anticipation when he told her to follow him.

As they walked to the Kazekage office the silence seemed to grow until Hideki finally asked why she did it. She didn't know what to say and so she said nothing at all. There was no way she could tell him the things Kohaku had said about him. It was one thing for the words to come out of his mouth but things like that would never leave her lips.

When they arrived she followed him right past the Kage office to a door with a small hinged slot on the front and locks on the side. "I need you to stay here until everything is sorted", he told her and without hesitation she walked through the door.

Just as he was about to shut and lock the door she spoke her first words to him. "Sensei", she started, staring at the floor "Why is it you were at the training ground? I thought you were busy today." By the end of her questioning she was staring up into his deep blue eyes. 'Was he really just blowing me off?' she wondered.

"I told her I would be late but I finished early", he told her plainly. Then a glint of pain or maybe even regret washed over his face and he added the words "I'm sorry" as he closed the door and latched the lock.

Yui was left confused and alone with her thoughts. 'Sorry for what? What did he mean by that?' Now she felt even worse wondering what he could have been sorry about. She looked around for anything to distract herself. The room was small with a single bed, a small barred window, and a little room with a toilet. She resigned herself to sit on the bed and practice her focus and chakra control. After a few hours she switched over to clones and after a few more someone dropped off a tray of food through the slot. She didn't sleep well and her next day was more of the same boring room except at some point someone had covered the small window from outside. For two days life seemed to stand still as she wasted her time in her tiny cell of a room. 'I wonder what they're saying', she wondered 'What will they do with me?' Just as she finished the thought she heard the lock on the door click and scrape.

She was terrified to know what was going to happen next. Would it be someone there to finish her off? She could only guess that threats were the reason her window had been covered. Or maybe it was someone to take her to Hideki sensei or even to prison. She took a deep breath to calm herself and heard the man as the door opened.

"Let's go", he told her and started walking. She followed reluctantly and felt a bit of ease as he stopped at the door for the Kazekage's office. The man opened the door for her and then closed it behind them and Yui made her way to sit in front of her sensei.

"Yui" Her breath caught in her throat as Hideki said her name "I regret to say that you are being transferred to Konoha"

When he finished Yui's eyes were wide open as her world began to spin.


	2. Coming to Terms

Yui's heart sank. She had just been told that she would be sent away again and suddenly the small room she'd been held in didn't seem so bad. She wished she could go back to the single bed and sleep. Maybe she would wake up and realize this had all been a dream. She wished, but she knew this was reality and she wouldn't be waking to any relief. She didn't seem to notice at all that Hideki was still talking. He was telling her how and when it would happen but she sat on the floor infront of him completely out of it. The jounin behind her seemed to notice and as he walked forward to her Hideki realized what was going on. He waved the man away, standing from his chair behind the desk and walked around to get her up on her feet.

"I've got this under control Denma. I'll escort her myself", he told the jounin who then left closing the door behind him. "Yui..Yui" He couldn't seem to get her attention by calling her name so he knelt down in front of her and lifted her chin to see his eyes. Yui's soft green eyes looked nearly blank and he could see the bags forming under them. 'She has probably punished herself enough for the lesson to stick', he thought. "Yui I know you are upset but this is for the best. For you and the village."

Yui didn't reply. She wondered how he could even say that. Once again she would be sent away because of her kekkeigenkai. Would she ever find a place to accept her? Hideki could see right through her silence as if she were thinking out loud. He knew her well and he knew what would get through. He gave her a smile before standing and pulling her to her feet. "If you'll just trust me I know it will be better for you soon", he said pulling her into a hug. This was a side of him that was the sensei that Yui knew. He wasn't mean or emotionless at all but rather selective to whom he opened up. "So will you trust me", he asked and she shook her head yes against him. "Good. Now we need to go and collect your things."

Yui sighed as his arms retracted. She didn't want him to let go yet. There was no telling how long it would be before she got to see him again after all. Never the less she let him go and then followed close behind him as they made their way out of the building.

When they got to the door they could hear the large crowd that had gathered. "Stay close", her sensei told her and they made the last few steps out into the sun. It was nearly time for the sun to set and so not quite as bright as morning or mid day, but after being in her box for two days it was bright enough to hurt her eyes. It tool a minute for her eyes to adjust and as she rubbed at them with her hands she started to make out the scene before her. Many people from the village had gathered and formed what one might call a mob as they pushed at the few jounin and chuunin forming a barrier between them. They were yelling and pushing and calling her all sorts of names like monster or demon. Someone started to throw rocks at her but with really poor aim and then a kunai and several shuriken, all of which were caught by Hideki's sand. The tip of the kunai stuck through the thin sand wall and Yui felt alarmed. She took her eyes uneasily from the blade to look up at her sensei who seemed as calm and collect as ever. Or so one might think if they didn't know him. He was obviously agitated to her. The signs were small but they were there.

"Quiet", he yelled at the bustling crowd and suddenly everyone stopped to hear what he had to say. "She is to be transferred to another village. You have nothing more to do here. Leave. Everyone." As though they were the very sand that he controlled, the crowd split and like little grains drifting away in the wind, they were gone all but three.

"Look what that mutt did", yelled a woman and Yui felt compelled to peak around the protective wall. She knew that term. Kohaku had been the one to first start calling her that. "Look what she did to my son!" Yui's stomach dropped as she now knew for fact it was Kohaku's family. As she took in the sight of them the sand began to fall back down to the ground. Obviously the woman was his mother and the small girl was his sister. Was the man his father? He seemed rather quiet when compared to Kohaku's mother. "She should be sent to hell for what she did, not be given a new start!"

'A new start?', Yui thought. She hadn't looked at it like that. Maybe it wouldn't be all bad. She looked up to the woman who was marching up with a rolling pin in hand and thought to herself that maybe if the woman was able to get a hit on her she would feel better. Maybe it might somewhat make up for what she had done but as she started to take a step forward Hideki placed his hand on her shoulder and began to speak.

"What good do you think that will do", he began to diffuse the situation.

"Momma", the little girl pleaded as she ran up to cling on the woman. She was starting to cry. Hideki looked down to at the girl and felt her pain. She was scared both for her brother and her mother. She didn't need to see any more violence.

"Go to your son. You can only make things worse here", he told them with a firm but gentle voice.

Yui looked back to her sensei and he seemed to have gone from agitated to sad. Then her attention was caught as the man finally spoke. "Let's listen to him. Let's go check on Kohaku in the hospital." He seemed to be the more reasonable one in the family. The woman on the other hand was rash and brazen as she stood there obviously debating whether to let it go and leave.

"One day you will pay for what you have done", she said as she took the girl's hand and turned to leave. The woman spoke with such conviction in her voice that Yui couldn't help but believe her. One day she would pay an even worse price.

When the family finally left Hideki dismissed the other shinobi and without a word put his hand on Yui's back edging her to walk with him. Her thoughts were still caught up in the scene of the mob as they walked and it had been eating at her. She had to know just how much damage she had caused and so she asked. "Is he going to be ok?"

"Are you wanting a yes or a no?", Hideki asked watching to see how she would react. Yui stopped walking and looked up at him, her light green eyes full of worry and questions. That was all Hideki needed to see. "He will make a full recovery", he stated and looked away continuing to walk. "Had I not showed up when I did I believe we may have had two fresh graves to dig."

Yui breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a quick thank you. She was genuinely glad he had made it in time. She wondered if she would ever be able to apologize to Kohaku and then she recalled all the things he had said. 'Screw it', she decided, 'He was a jerk and he asked for it, besides he'll be thrilled to hear I've left the village.' But even as she thought the words she still felt guilty.

When they finally arrived at her apartment the place was in complete disarray. As she led him up the stairs they heard a thunk followed by a slosh and Yui ran up to see the door ajar. Pushing it open her heart sank as she took in the spilled pail of wet paint and her eyes followed up to see the word monster painted on the wall, still fresh and glistening. Of all the times she had been called a monster this would be the one she felt she actually deserved.

"Looks like they left through the window." Hideki gestured to the broken glass. As she looked over to him he knelt down to pick up her tattered backpack which laid atop a mound of shredded cloths. After a quick view he dropped it back onto the pile. "We'll stop by a store. I'll buy you the things you need before we go."

Yui was quick to protest. "But sensei I have some money saved up." She didn't much like to take charity. So she turned and walked to a shelf before soon realizing her savings jar was missing from it's usual spot. Perhaps she had been too quick. Of course if they would go through the trouble of tearing up all of her cloths and belongings they would be sure to take the money too.

Hideki placed his hand on her lowering head to reassure her. "Don't worry. Think of it as a going away present.. And if you must, you can pay me back the next time we meet." He threw the last line in just to cheer her up and it worked.

'We'll meet again', she focused her thoughts.

"Will you stay here while I go and get the things?", Hideki asked ruffling her hair before letting go. He had thought and it didn't seem wise to bring her along.

"Yes", she replied nodding her head a bit.

"What kind of cloths do you want me to get?" Hideki could probably have guessed but just in case he thought he might ask. He took another survey of the room as she thought about her options.

'This is supposed to be a new start so.. I guess I'll pick a new look when I get to the leaf village.' Having made her decision she looked over to her sensei. "T-shirt and pants will be fine."

"Black I presume." Hideki cracked a light smile as she nodded. "I'll be back soon. If anyone comes use your water to defend and restrain only. Do not attack." He added emphasis on the last part as he walked out the door. Yui stood there for a minute not knowing what to do. She did know that had she been anyone else there was no way Hideki sensei would leave them there alone. It would be even more trouble if she had tried to run but she had no desire to do so. Where could she go? She had no friends or family and no money to live off of. Besides staying offered her a chance to start over and at that moment it was the hope that kept her going.

With another look around the room she decided to see what she could salvage. The ground was littered with torn scrolls and cloth and even some shuriken and kunai. Those were definitely worth grabbing. She picked them up, neatly placing them on the counter in the kitchen, not even realizing that she was being watched.

She heard the glass at the window crunch under the pressure of the intruder's weight and turned just barely in time to dodge the kunai that swung for her head. She ducked and tried to call any nearby water to aid her but the man was too fast and had kicked her across the room and into the hard wall. It knocked the wind out of her but coughing she rose to her feet and managed to finally collect enough water to work with. The man glared from behind his bandaged mask and charged at her throwing punches and kicks. Yui did her best to block the attacks with her water but it was no good. The water she had wasn't ripe enough. It hadn't been soaked with her chakra and so it moved too slow, leaving her with near-miss dodges. Yui wasn't particularly great at taijutsu but it was obvious to her that her attacker was.

She felt a moment of relief when the kunai from his had got stuck in the wall but then she felt the pain of his fist connecting with her face. She fell to the ground and her water fell lifeless on the floor. "You think you're so tough and that you can get away with anything you want?", the man questioned with a deep angry voice. He had hit her good and dazed her. "I'll burn you alive just like you did to him." Now the man was practically yelling. Yui pushed up with all her might and jumped as fast as she could behind the kitchen counter. She felt the heat on her skin and could smell her singed hair.

'How do I get out of this?', she thought trying to recollect her water. 'Should I run? I'm no match for this guy.' She only had a moment to think but decided if she ran he would just follow her. He was faster than she was so there was no way to get away. She steeled herself, stopping her shaking hands and tried to come up with a plan. If she could just make it to Hideki then she would be safe. She would run after all.

"Come on out little demon", the man taunted. Yui jumped up grabbing a kunai and dashed for the bedroom. The man quickly took notice and chased with a kunai in hand. As he stabbed the blade deep into her back a cloud of white smoke exploded in the hallway and another Yui leapt up from behind the counter. She looked down the smoke filled hallway and caught a glimpse of the man. Even with only seeing his eyes she could make out that he was smiling before he too turned into a puff of smoke.

She knew exactly what this meant and as she looked to the window she felt his grip catch her by the throat. "You're not the only one who can make clones." She could hear his cocky smirk in the way he talked and as he readied his blade she closed her eyes tight fearing what came next.

She felt herself fall to the ground and then with a thud she felt the full weight of him fall onto her. She laid still, waiting to feel the pain of where she had been stabbed when a hand reached out and lifted her by the arm. Her eyes opened in surprise to see Hideki pulling her out from under the man and back to her feet. "Did I take too long?", he asked as if nothing had happened. She looked from Hideki to the man and then back to his gentle blue eyes before tackling him.

"Sense", she cried out "I knew for sure he was going to kill me but you saved me." She hugged him tight wishing she could explain how grateful she was.

His hand found the back of her head and he noticed what she already knew. "Yui your hair.."

"Is it that bad?", she asked as she let go, trying to pull it over her shoulder. At least she wasn't fond of it and besides it would grow back. She would had checked in the bathroom mirror but she already knew it would be smashed as well.

"Come." Hideki walked to the door and Yui followed behind him.

"Where are we going?" She looked back to the unconscious man wondering if it was ok to leave him.

"He'll be fine." Hideki had obviously seen right through her. "You can stay at my house tonight so that nothing happens." He handed her a new black backpack that was stuffed with supplies and motioned to the now cluttered pile of weapons on the counter. She had forgotten about them. Quickly she stuffed them into the bag and tossed it over her shoulder proceeding to the door for them to leave. With another glance at the unconscious man she felt uneasy.

"Sensei", she paused "Am I being transferred so you don't have to deal with me anymore?" They had just made it down the stairs and he looked back at her.

"Why would you think that?" he asked with a pained look. 'How can she not know how important she is to me' , he asked himself as if some inner voice would answer his thoughts.

"You're always gone or busy", she explained looking down to hide the tears that had formed in her eyes. Hideki was shocked both by the comment and her tears. Had he really been so absent in her life lately. He knew that had he not been late none of this would had happened like it had, but he never realized she had been hurting like this.

"I should have been there for you more", he started and now she understood why he had said he was sorry. "With your ability to control water you remind everyone of the past Kazekage, Gaara.. and of me when I was young." Hideki recalled how much trouble he had been when he was her age. He had by far earned his seclusion but she had done nothing when they started hating her. "They are just scared", he paused and then decided to speak his mind. "You should have gone to Konoha from the start."

Yui thought for a moment about his last line and it made her wonder. "Was it you who wanted me transferred?" Yui looked up at him and he looked away, starting to walk again.

"Yes", he told her as she trailed behind. "They wanted to imprison you and I couldn't let that happen. Konoha will be your fresh start, where people won't cower at your abilities." She thought it over as they walked and finally thanked him. He had given her a way out, a chance to start over. "Hurry up if you want me to fix your hair tonight", he waved for her to pick up the pace and so she sped up with a smile. What would she do without him?

When they got to his house Hideki let her in and went searching for a pair of scissors. "How much do you want me to cut? Just the burnt part?", he asked, rummaging through some drawers. She thought for a moment and came to the conclusion that it was more trouble than it was worth. She didn't care about having long hair and never bothered to mess with styling it. Something short would be a nice change of pace.

"Just cut it all", she said, reaching back to try to gauge the damage.

Hideki looked up at her having found the scissors. "Are you sure?", he asked with emphasis. He himself had long black hair that went down as far as the small of his back and was rather attached to his. Yui had long hair since she first came to the sand village and he wondered, if she was so unconcerned with it, why had she not just gotten it cut off before. But then he happened to think that in all the time he had known her, not once was her wild hair tamed and he chuckled to himself. He should had realized she didn't care about it.

He pulled out a chair and told her to sit. When he tried to run a brush through her tangle it started to snag. "Don't bother", she told him, reaching for his scissors and he obliged. As she reached back, grabbing a hand full of hair, he watched amused at how uneven her strokes were. When she said to cut it all off she meant it. By the time she returned his scissors she had already cut off the back nearly to the skin. The top of her head she had left untouched. "How does it look now?", she asked him and he had to stifle a laugh.

When he had composed himself she had turned to look at him and see why he hadn't answered. He gave her a playful smile before forming a sign with his hands and transforming into a perfect replica of her. He only wished he could had seen her face when he turned around but her voice was amusing enough to picture it.

"Can you fix it?", she stumbled to get the words out fast enough. Hideki was now highly entertained as he puffed back into his smiling self. "Don't smile sensei. Can you fix it or not?", she fussed.

"You've cut it too short for me to use the scissors but I might have a pair of clippers around here somewhere." As he walked off to find them Yui got a good look around. She had not been to Hideki's house in what seemed like forever. He was a very organized person. Everything in his house had a proper place, a habit that had rubbed off on Yui and so looking down she felt compelled to sweep up the mess. Her hair did not belong piled up on his floor.

She sat when she was finished waiting for Hideki to return. Soon he walked back in with clippers in hand. "Sensei why do you even have those when you keep your hair so long?" She was genuinely curious with her question and hadn't expected him to blush even the slightest bit that he had. It wasn't like him to get embarrassed and she figured he would never say why when he told her they belonged to a friend. That was the best answer she would get out of him and she knew it so the topic died as he started chipping away at the uneven mess.

"There", he proclaimed as he finished. Yui reached back to feel the fresh buzz cut he had given. It felt good against her fingertips and she liked the way he had left the top untouched to hang down over it. "Well?", he asked, waiting for her thoughts. Excitedly she turned around in her chair and with a big smile asked if he would get the sides too. After a few more minutes with the clippers, he brushed the trimmings off her shoulders and was officially done.

"I can't wait to see how it looks", she told him with a huge grin as she jumped out of the chair.

"Oh no you don't", Hideki warned her while reaching for the broom. "You're not going to track hair all through my house. Straight to the shower with you."

"Thankyou sensei", she replied politely as she grabbed the loop on top of her new bag.

"Leave it. I forgot to get you anything to sleep in so I'll just bring you something while you're cleaning up." He was dumping the dust pan into the trash now and with that she dropped the bag and left happily for the bathroom.

When she finished drying off she slid open the door that separated the bath and shower from the rest of the restroom. She smiled seeing that Hideki had brought her one of his longer shirts to sleep in. It seemed to fit just right as a sleep shirt, going down almost to her knees.

Hideki looked up from this paperwork and files as she walked back into the living room and he patted the couch beside him. When she sat down beside him he pulled a bag up from the floor and handed it to her. 'He got me a present?' Yui was surprised.

"It's nothing much but it's your birthday tomorrow and I've been wanting to get you something you would use", he explained as she reached in and pulled out a small gourd that had been painted with black, silver, and a dark grey-blue. She flipped it around in her hands admiring the smooth intricate pattern of paint. It was a wonderful gift and he was right, she would use it. It would help her greatly to carry water that was already infused with her chakra. Hideki carried similar gourds on either side of his waist that were sometimes replaced by a single large gourd turned on it's side and fixed to the back of his waist by a belt. Now she would have one of her own. "Do you like it?", he asked after a few moments.

Yui turned to him with a flushed face and a growing grin. She was feeling embarrassed by how happy the gift made her. "Thank you very much sensei! I love it!"

"I'm glad", he patted her on the head. "It's getting pretty late and we have a long journey tomorrow. You should probably get some sleep." He pointed to the bedroom and she could see he had already sat her bag next to the night stand.

"Where will you sleep sensei?"

"I have paperwork to do", he gestured to the stack of papers and files on the coffee table in front of him. "I'll take the couch when I'm done."

"Are you sure. You need to rest." He reached for the papers as if telling her that the topic was sorted. He wouldn't be changing his mind. So she went to the bedroom, picked up her bag, and started emptying the contents out onto the bed. She wasn't ready for bed and figured she may as well check to see what the bag, which now contained all of her belongings, had hidden in it. The assortment was pretty standard. It had clothes, ninja tools, tooth brush.. and then she saw the book. It was a simple black bound sketch book, still wrapped with a pencil and large eraser under the clear plastic. Quickly she repacked the bag and laid it back onto the floor.

Hideki smiled when he heard the crinkle of the plastic and knew she had found the book. It made him happy to know she wanted to open it right away. He figured she would find it later but now was just as well. Quietly she tiptoed back to the couch with her new sketchbook. "Not ready to sleep?", he asked her with a smile.

"Not yet", she replied, opening her book to sketch. As he continued to do his paperwork she started to draw him out on the page. His long black hair with just a bit falling over his left shoulder, his smiling lips, and then finally as she started to fall asleep she drew his focused eyes.

Hideki could tell she had gone to sleep as the scritching of her pencil came to a stop. After a while he looked over and sat his papers down. Surely by now she would be out cold. He took her book gently from her hands looking to see what she had drawn. She was very good at capturing the things she saw with her pencil and paper. Quietly he sat it on the table and proceeded to lift her as gentle as he could. As he started to lay her down she snuggled against him as if asking him not to let go.

Hideki blushed slightly. 'The hair makes her look like a boy', he thought as he pulled the covers up over her. Silently he fetched her sketch book and placed a fair bit of money and a note in the further back pages before setting it on the nightstand beside her. He gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead wishing her good luck and she rolled over with a muffled grunt. 'I hope this new start goes better for you', he thought, patting her on the head before walking out for the night.


	3. The Kicker

Well I hope you've been enjoying the story of my life so far. Yeah that's right it's me Yui. I'm not really sure who's been telling you what or how they even know what I was thinking, but anyway I really wanted you to hear this next part from me. It's a bit of a life-changer and it's hard to explain so just hang in there and try your best to understand.

I was getting the best sleep I have had in a good while at Hideki sensei's house. I hadn't been getting much sleep lately. As I'm sure you might have guessed, it was a very stressful time for me. I was all alone in a village full of people who didn't want me and then I snapped and put a fellow genin in the hospital. Yeah I messed up big time and now I was going to be sent to Konohagakure, away from the one person who actually cared about me. What a nightmare. The worst part of the day was waking to think that's all it was.

"Yui it's time to get up", I could hear him telling me from beside the bed. I rolled over to look at him and his calm blue eyes looked as peaceful as ever. I jumped up fast to tell him what a horrible dream I'd had but his words came out first. "We need to get moving so we can meet the Konoha shinobi on time." That snapped me back to reality pretty hard. I guess he could tell because I swear I saw a flicker of pity in his eyes before he left the room.

He had closed the door behind him and I took that as my cue to get dressed. Amazingly enough the cloths he got me fit like a charm. It may seem a bit grim but I was rather enjoying the fact that my cloths were all black. From my t-shirt down to my shoes. Even the shuriken holder atop the wrap on my leg was black. The only color on me was the brown pouch of tools I wore at the back of my waist. I had almost forgotten the gift he had given me. 'Where did I put it', I wondered searching around the room. There was a knock at the door and when I opened it, Hideki sensei was standing there holding the painted gourd as if he knew I was looking for it. "Thank you", I told him politely and fixed it to my left him. I loved my gift and now I had some real color.

When I tried to give him his shirt back he told me to keep it. He said I would need something to sleep in until I could go to a store. Honestly I was kind of happy to be taking a little piece of him with me. It made me feel a bit more reassured. But I was still so nervous that I couldn't even eat the breakfast he had made us. He didn't seem to mind very much. He just finished his portion and then we grabbed our bags and were out the door.

I was rather glad to see there was no mob this time. In fact there wasn't much of anyone around when we left. Just a few misplaced glares here and there. At the gate a man decided to sneer at me and tell me good riddance and I paused. I turned to face the man. It wasn't like I would ever be welcome back so why not. "You're damn right!", I yelled over to him, "Good riddance!" When I turned my back on him I finally started to calm down. Between the man's shocked face and Hideki sensei's amused smile it wasn't really turning out to be a bad day.

Hideki sensei knew me so well. "Are you feeling better? I brought some onigiri for when ever you're ready to eat." He didn't have to say another word. I answered him with a big grin and a nod, glad he had thought ahead. The onigiri was good. Just the perfect amount of salt and it entertained me as we made out way across the vast empty sand. When the food was gone I reached back to my pack for the canteen with water. It was hot and the cold water was cool and soothing on my throat. It gave me an idea. This was the perfect time to work my chakra into the water in my gourd. I let my hand hover over the gourd, feeling the water turn and swirl as I thrust my chakra into it.

"Slow down", Hideki sensei told me when he noticed how much chakra I was pouring into it. "There's plenty of time. If you rush it you'll exhaust your chakra." I must have given him a cocky look to get the next remark. "Yes. Even your large reservoir can be drained." I sighed in defeat. He was right, both about the reckless chakra use and that there was plenty of time. "How about a game", he suggested.

I was curious now. "What kind of game?" What could we possibly play out here in this wasteland?

He lifted his hand pulling the sand from around us and shaping it into a perfect square cube. "Try to copy it." Was he being serious? How hard could it be?

I popped the cork off of my gourd, shoving it in my pocket. Then I pulled the water out and made it hover in front of me. Apparently it was harder than I thought. If you've ever tried to shape clay into a cube you'll understand. First I had a rectangle and then when I tried to fix the long section it threw off the other side. I think it took me something like 5 tries to get it. That was when he told me to start slowly building up the chakra while we played out game of shapes.

The next shape he challenged me to do was a sphere. I nailed that one on the first try. After a few more simple shapes he kicked up the difficulty. Now we were making hands that waved, rabbits that hopped and more. At one point he told me to make a thin parallel sheet near the ground before he made a wonderful group of sand dolphins leap through it like they were swimming in a mini ocean. That was my second favorite of the day.

As time passed I noticed it was getting easier and easier to make more complex shapes and figures. It must have been the slow build up of chakra coming into play. By the time we could see the forest ahead of us we were making miniature figures with swords fight each other. His would lunge and mine would guard. Mine would jump up above him to come down with a swing for his to dodge. And then just before we hit the trees I went for a slash and he popped the head off of his little man, making him drop the sword and feel around for his missing head before falling down. That was my favorite one. It made me laugh.

"This is where we wait", he told me just a few yards into the tree like. My nerves were working back up now.

"Sensei is it ok that you're spending all this time with me here?" I knew he was always busy and to spend so many hours with me was rare. I probably made a huge mess for him to clean up when he got back but here he was spending his day walking me all the way out here and having sand-water people fights.

"I wanted to escort you and make sure you made it safe." His words put me at ease. "So are you enjoying your gift?" To be honest I had completely forgotten it was my birthday. Fourteen years old and what a day to remember.

Our timing must have been pretty good because it wasn't long before two leaf shinobi showed up. I had just put up my water when we noticed their presence. Good thing too because I didn't want to start my new life with a label that read 'The freak with a kekkeigenkai'. That just wasn't the way I wanted people to see me. I wanted to be normal, to fit in, and maybe for once to make some friends.

I looked over just in time to see the two shinobi touch and go from a branch to come to a stop, landing just a bit away. They both had on the standard uniform vest of the leaf village with blue pants and shirts, complete with the red swirl that accompanied their village for some reason. The taller of the two had spikey brown hair poking out from his head band and narrow brown eyes, which he was using to give me a good look over. My first thought, He looked kind of full of himself with the condescending look on his face.

The other guy caught my attention when he started to talk. "You must be the Kazekage and..", he paused having to check his papers, "Yui?" This guy had a bit longer hair than the other . It was black and parted at the right side of his face with even length going all around his head and the back buzzed off like mine. His skin was pale and his eyes were black with dark rings under them, probably from lack of sleep I would guess. Over all he didn't give me much of an impression. I heard Hideki sensei reply to the man with a yes as I looked them over.

Are you ready for the kicker because this is a moment that changed my life forever. If this confuses you I'm sorry but try to keep up and it will get easier for you to understand. Of all the times I've tried to explain, it never gets easier.

The taller man finally stood up straight, apparently having made his final decision about me. "He looks like a fine young man. I'm sure he'll fit in perfectly at Konoha", he said with a confident smile. The moment he said it my attention wandered. The words 'young man' played around in my head and I could feel my face start to flush as I noticed just how happy those words made me. For a moment I was confused and embarrassed but ultimately I was happy. It was as if someone had for the first time in my life actually seen me for who I was. Like suddenly I realized the reason why I never liked myself. It wasn't the way people treated me. Something was always wrong with me and I never knew what it was. It was my body. My body was never right and from the start a part of me knew it.

I nearly panicked when sensei started to correct him. "Actually", he started to say but reflexively my arm shot up to grab at his shirt. He stopped to look down at me and I gave him a look begging for him not to say anything. It only took him a moment to get the message. "Could you give us a minute?" He didn't even look to them as he asked. I looked over to see them both nodding as he put his hand on my shoulder and led me away.

As we walked my stomach clenched tighter with every step. Would he think I'm weird? Was he disappointed in me? Was he going to lecture me before telling them? I really didn't expect him to be as calm about it as he was. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? Eventually they will find out." I was relieved that he wasn't mad and it was that relief that fueled my cocky response.

"Then I won't let them. I won't let anyone find out." It was a bold statement but at the time I really thought I could make those words true. His sigh should have given me my first warning sign.

"You know this is a bad idea but fine I won't tell them. It's your life. Just promise me you'll take care of yourself." Somehow Hideki sensei always understood me.

"I will sensei!" That was all I could say through my ear to ear grin.

"Don't forget to come visit your old sensei every now and then", he smiled back and I couldn't help but hug him. I was so thankful. I didn't even notice when the black haired shinobi came over.

"Excuse my intrusion Kazekage-sama but I believe the paperwork said we were retrieving a female genin."

He startled me and I jumped back but sensei didn't flinch. He looked down at me like he was waiting for my final decision and when I nodded he turned to face the man. With a deep inhale and release of tension he made my decision into fact. "There must have been an issue with paperwork. If you two are ready I believe 'he' is ready to go." Hideki sensei was my hero.

"Very well. Thank you Lord Kazekage." I almost couldn't believe how easy it was as the man walked away.

I thanked him when the man left and proclaimed I would do my best to make him proud. "Just be safe", he told me and like the kind sensei I know, he gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Good luck." I admit a kiss on the head was a bit much even for him but it was nice and as I blushed a light pink he smiled before turning to go back. Feeling more at ease now I went to the Konoha shinobi who were waiting and we left.

I learned right away that the short haired one was a talker. "We'll be spending the next two days together so let's go ahead and introduce ourselves", he started. "My name is Daichi Kinoshita and this guy over here is Kuro Matsui. He's not a very big talker but he actually has a heart of gold under that dark facade of his." Kuro raised his hand as if to confirm the information and Daichi waited silently for my response, a friendly smile equipped to his face. He seemed like he might be an ok guy after. "Well? Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" His smile was wavering.

"Oh sorry. My name is Yui and it's nice to meet you Daichi and Kuro." I tried my best to remember my manners.

"Yui what?", Daichi asked as if I had left something out.

"Uh. Just Yui", I told him hoping it wouldn't seem too weird. "I don't have a family name."

"Oh." His response was quick and he looked like he regretted asking for a moment but he bounced back fast enough. "So how old are you Yui?"

"I'm fourteen." Was he going to ask questions like this the whole way?

"Ah that's a wonderful age! I'm actually only 21 and you wouldn't guess it but Kuro over there is 28." He was enthusiastic I'll give him that.

"Hey! Daichi why are you telling people how old I am?", Kuro complained at him.

"Aw come on it's no big deal. You're still plenty young", Daichi defended before he changed the topic again. "So what did you do to get transferred?"

His question hit me suddenly and my legs faltered for a moment. I could deal with the normal questions but I really didn't want to explain the fight or the scenario that led up to it. "..Why are you asking me all of this? Can't you just read the paperwork?" I know I sounded grumpy when I said it. I could hear it in my own voice but it seemed better than sounding insecure.

"I could", he said in a flat tone, much different from the enthusiastic one he'd had moments before. "But you shouldn't base your opinion of people solely on paperwork. You should talk to them and listen to what they have to say."

"Come on quit asking him difficult questions. He'll tell you when he wants to", Kuro broke in and saved me. I gave him a smile hoping he would catch my 'thank you' behind it. When he smiled back I remember thinking he really did have a heart of gold under that grim exterior.

Silence lingered in the air as we made out trek toward what was to be my new home. I kind of missed having Daichi ask me questions and talk. It helped to pass the time. Finally I decided to ask what Konoha was like. Daichi was more than happy to have a topic to talk about. He told me the people of the village were over all accepting and then about various places one could go if they wanted to have fun or eat good food. He must have been a romantic because from there the topic turned.

"Oh and I can even tell you the best places to go for dates if you get yourself a girl", he chirped oh so cheerily

For a second I was caught off guard. "A girl? Why would I want a girl?" I hadn't really thought much about girls or boys in that sense. I hadn't thought of romance at all for that matter. They must have thought I was being a silly kid afraid of cooties by the way they both laughed.

"Just wait, as you get older you'll get lonely and you'll start to understand." Daichi was clenching his vest over his heart as if making a point while Kuro just laughed quietly. Part of me wondered if they really knew what it was to be lonely. I had been alone for years. Hell maybe they didn't realize it but even my name means alone. Makes you wonder what my parents were thinking when they had me.

After a long day of travel with only short breaks, we finally stopped to make camp. The sun would be setting soon and since they felt confident enough to determine no one would be after us, we made a fire before laying out our bed rolls. When everything was done and we could finally rest I pulled out my sketch book. Opening it to the sketch of Hideki sensei, I was surprised to see he had snuck in some money along with a note.

I should have known Daichi would say something when he caught sight of it. "Oh? A note from your secret girlfriend?", he teased.

"I already told you I'm not interested in dating", I couldn't help but grumble and that sent him into laughter. Ignoring the loud man, I opened the note to read what my sensei had wrote.

'I didn't want you to go so far away and not be able to get the things you need so I left you some money with this note. Make sure you don't spend all of your time practicing and instead make some friends you can enjoy being around. I'll be sure to come see you at the next chuunin exam so work hard. When I come you can tell me all about your new life. Take care and do your best', signed Hideki.

When I finished reading I read it again to make sure I didn't miss a word. I made a mental note to pay him back later as I stuck the money into a small pocket on my backpack. Then I decided to do as he wished. I would do my best and try to make friends.

"So who was it from?", Daichi asked me with curiosity.

I took a deep inhale and when I let it out I locked my eyes to his. "You asked me what I did to be sent away", I started, having decided honesty would be better than the speculation from after they read the paperwork. Now I had Kuro's attention tool "I put another genin in the hospital. Not in a standard submission but in critical care." Daichi's eyes widened a bit as if he hadn't the slightest clue before my statement. Kuro on the other hand didn't flinch. He must have already done his homework. "I know it's no excuse but the kid was a bully and I was already on a short fuse that day. When he picked a fight I.. well I just didn't know where to draw the line", I admitted. Daichi looked more composed by the end of my explaining. I was still nervous how they would respond but it was nice having people willing to hear my side of the events.

"Thank you", Daichi said surprising me. My mouth was probably gaping as he repeated and then explained why. "Thank you for being honest and opening up."

"Yeah", I replied with a sheepish smile. "I should have just explained from the start."

"Well tomorrow you get to start over", Kuro said as Daichi started to yawn. "You two can get some sleep. I'm going to stay up for a bit."

"Sounds good to me. Don't stay up too late or those bags under your eyes might grow." He was already into his sleeping bag before he even finished talking. Kuro sighed at his teammate and then looked over to me.

"Are you not going to sleep yet?" I was packing my book back into my bag and searching around for the mirror I had seen last night.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk and work on my jutsu a bit." I didn't want him to know exactly what I was planning. If I was going to live my life as a boy then I needed to take every step to make sure no one would find out. Yes I am talking about anatomy. Transformation wasn't exactly my worst jutsu but I could definitely use some practice.

"Just don't wander too far." He sounded pretty nonchalant as he added another log to the fire. I made my way just out of view of the man and started to practice my jutsu, transforming myself into a proper boy if you know what I mean. To be honest I didn't know exactly what it was supposed to look like down there but I had the gist of it. As far as anything else was concerned my hair and eyes, even my frame was the same. No point getting rid of curves that didn't exist. I practiced late into the night and was exhausted by the time I finally went to bed.

Waking up the next day was rough. I was tired from lack of sleep and the transformation I had when I went to bed had come undone. Daichi was teasing me that I would get bags under my eyes when Kuro protested that there was nothing wrong with being motivated to train. I was starting to get used to these guys. I did not however expect it when Daichi proclaimed he had to pee before we left. He turned around only walking a few steps and I realized he intended to go there with us in clear view of him.

"Hey! Don't you guys from the leaf care about privacy?", I shot out feeling my face turn red.

Daichi looked surprised by my out burst. "We're all guys here and I'm not shy" I could feel my face growing hotter as he turned back to do his business and now I realized I too needed to relieve my bladder.

"I'm going over there", I told them with a defeated tone covering my voice. I could hear Daichi teasing me about how I must be shy and Kuro telling him to leave me be but I didn't really care. So what if I was shy? It's not like I knew how to go standing up and before that I had to transform. So I did my thing and I have to admit, the first time you go standing up can actually be pretty amazing. I even impressed myself. But I'm sure reading all of this is probably embarrassing you so I'll move on.

This day was pretty much like the last. We made our way toward the leaf village, talking about various things. When they told me we were almost there I started to feel excited. Kuro told me that they would be taking me all the way to the Hokage's office. At this point I had to ask about the Hokage. I needed to know just how cautious I should be around him.

They both seemed to hold great respect for the man, telling me he was very smart and strict about the rules, but then they added that he would make exceptions for some if he truly thought it necessary. Over all they both agreed that he was a worthy leader. Daichi even threw in a comment about how eccentric he could be, just to get back lash from Kuro that he was more eccentric than the Hokage.

When we finally made our way to the gates of the village, I admit I wasn't too impressed. The entrance to the sand village seemed bigger. But when the giant wooden door opened it was like adding a splash of colors to a black and white sketch. "Wow! It's so vibrant", I remember myself saying. It looked like a nice place to live. I could get used to this.

I let my eyes wander from one colorful outcrop to another as they led me to a tall red building with several orange roofs. The outside may have been full of color but the inside was pretty bland. And of course once again I was anxious, worrying whether the Hokage would see through me and reveal my secrets. I needed to learn to stay calm. At this rate I would end up with an ulcer, but hey at least my white hair couldn't get any whiter.

As we walked in I readied myself for any questions I might get. "Lord Hokage we've returned with the boy from the sand." Daichi's voice was clear and firm as he addressed his superior, much different from his earlier exuberance.

For a moment the Hokage seemed confused as he looked up from his work. "Boy?", he questioned. His eyebrow raised and my heart started to pound as I wondered if he knew.

"It seems there was an issue with the paperwork", Kuro informed him, "Lord Kazekage confirmed it himself." Kuro always seemed to speak in a calm and matter of fact way. I think I was starting to admire him.

I looked back to the Hokage and he seemed to be pondering something. Would Hideki sensei's name be enough for him to believe or would he question it? After a pause, too long for my likes, he finally spoke. "Very well", he said as if he were accepting defeat. "And your name is Yui correct?"

"Uh yes sir", I managed to stumble before he continued.

"Welcome to Konoha village. If you want to wait a while I can send for another young genin like yourself to show you to your new place." He was straight to the point which made me think he must be busy like Hideki sensei.

"That would be great. Thank you", I tried to keep it polite and simple. I couldn't believe how easily he accepted the change in plan but I imagine it was all thanks to sensei's confirmation. The Hokage looked past us to tell another shinobi, probably a jounin by his looks, to send for someone named Koji. It surprised me because I hadn't even noticed the man until that point. Daichi and Kuro offered to wait with me until the escort could arrive but I told them I would be fine and so they left, leaving me alone with the leader of my new village.

He cleared his throat gaining my attention before he spoke. "For you to continue as a shinobi of Konoha we will need to asses your skills and placement for rank." Did he plan to strip me of my genin title and send me to the academy if I failed? Surely not, I was too old and skilled to go there. Would I possibly be promoted? That sounded great but I better not get my hopes up. "We'll be testing you individually and then also with a group. Do you think you will be up for that tomorrow or will you need another day to adjust?"

"Tomorrow will be fine." Would a true ninja answer any other way? He told me to stay close to home and that someone would come by to get me. I only had to wait a short bit before a spikey brown haired boy burst through through the door with excitement.

"Reporting for duty sir!", he exclaimed in an almost comical way.

"Ah Koji would you please give Yui here a short tour of the village and show him where he will be living?" The Hokage must have been used to his exuberance because he didn't seem to flinch at all.

"Sure think", the boy chirped as he turned to take a look at me. I took this chance to get a good look at him as well. His hair was brown and styled forward causing it to spike out over his headband with just a bit falling down. His eyes were hazel and they were complimented by the dark green and black jacket he wore over his black t-shirt with his dark brown cargo shorts.

"You look pretty cool in all that black", he broke my concentration. "You must be the new genin. My name is Koji Tsukiyama and I'll be your guide today." He was headed out the door before he even finished his introduction and with a slight laugh I followed. He asked me all the standard questions. When did I get there? Where was I from? And then he finally realized that he never gave me a chance to give him my name and asked that too. "You'll have to tell me all about the sand some time", he said as we made a left turn. He wasn't very good at tours it seemed. We had been walking and talking since we left but not once had he remarked to anything around. Never the less he seemed like an ok guy. I would just have to go exploring later.

"Well, this is it", he said as we stopped in front of what looked like a three-story, cement brick apartment building. "The rooms here are not very big but they're not bad. Oh and there's no shower so you'll have to use the public baths. Anyway I have to go now", he handed me a set of keys with a number tag attached. I have no clue when he picked them up but that was the least of my worries at the moment. He was walking away and I didn't know where anything was.

"Hey wait", I yelled ,"Are there any good stores close by?"

He looked back only for a moment to point back in my direction. "Everything you need is that way." And then he disappeared leaping across the roofs out of view.

I made up my mind to check out my new home before I did anything else. My key had a tag with the number 313 on it which meant I would be on the third floor and then the last two digits made me smile. As odd as it might seem, 13 was probably my favorite number. To most it would be unlucky but to me there couldn't be a more lucky number.

All of the doors in this place seemed the same except for the number tags at the side of each. When I made my way to the door labeled 313 I noticed there were only a few other residents in the building and all of them were shinobi. It made me wonder if it was a shinobi only complex. That would explain the rooms being small. Single shinobi often spent more time out on missions than they would at home. The apartment would do me just fine with it's small living room/kitchen, an even smaller bed room and bath complete with mirror, toilet, and sink.

Damn I forgot Koji had told me there was no shower. This was bad. I'd never had to use a public bath before. What if I didn't have my transformation right? Or what if it came undone while I was in there? It was nerve wracking and I needed to go to the store first, so I made a mental note to work on my jutsu later. Sadly that mental note jogged another issue to mind. I would need to get a book on water jutsu before the physical test. It would probably be better to disguise my kekkeigenkai from the start so that if I accidentally use it, I might get away with it.

I sat my bag next to the bed, glad that the apartment came furnished with even sheets and such, before heading out to the store. Koji was right when he told me everything I would need was just down the street. There was a bakery, tool shop, general goods store ,and more. I made a quick stop at the bookstore to find something on water techniques and then the grocery for dinner. I admit I was very thankful that Hideki sensei had put some money into my bag. The rest of my night was pretty boring, researching what hand signs did which water jutsu before practicing both the sign orders and also my transformation. Tomorrow would be a long and stressful day.

* * *

Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. I have worked on this plot for the last 7 years but I am just not finding out how hard it can be to get chapters out on a timely manner. And for anyone still interested and waiting for the next chapter, thank you for your support. I highly appreciate it and I am open to comments, questions, and critique. -SD


	4. Tests, Tests, and.. More Tests?

It was early morning as Yui rolled around sleepily in his new bed. He didn't have to wake just yet and it was cold outside of his blankets. He rolled to his left and then to the right. Finally after rolling back onto his side he accepted that he wouldn't be falling back to sleep. So with a shove of the covers and a bit of effort he sat up on the edge of the bed and timidly let his feet make contact with the chilled floor.

As he made his way to the kitchen he remembered that he hadn't yet stocked his shelves with food. It was still early and he didn't quite feel like going shopping so instead he would go out to eat. Maybe he could stop and get some dango at the stall he found yesterday and do some exploring before his tests. With that he made his mind up and quickly got dressed before heading out. He didn't bother to put on his usual gear of shuriken, pouch, or water gourd. Instead he would be light and inconspicuous.

The dango from the small street stand was delicious and sweet, just what he wanted. As he ate he took his time exploring the area, completely unaware that anyone was looking for him. The jounin had already tired to find him at his house and was annoyed that he wasn't there. "They told him to stay close so he has to be somewhere near by", he muttered to himself. His long black hair danced around his cheeks as he took a look around, the long strand between his eyes somehow never clouding his vision. With his deep blue eyes locked toward the shopping district, he decided to start there. He went to various stores asking if anyone had seen a young genin with short white hair and green eyes. That was the only description he had been given but you would expect it to be easy to find a white haired kid. So far no one had seen him and the only place left in the area to check with was the dango stand.

He asked the woman at the counter if she had seen a young genin today. "I don't know about a genin but I've only seen one boy today around that age. I haven't seen anyone so young with white hair since Kenatiko was a boy." The mention of white hair caught his attention more so that the mention of his former team mate.

"That's exactly who I'm looking for", he told the woman hoping she would stay on topic. "Which way did he go?" The kind elder woman hoping she would stay on topic. "Which way did he go?" The kind elder woman raised one hand from where she had been shaping a ball of dough and pointed down the street.

"Thank you", he told her respectfully before heading further from his original destination. He was beginning to feel it was a game of cat and mouse as he walked asking passerby's if they had seen the boy. By the time he made it to the park he was thoroughly annoyed, and that's when he spotted a boy with white hair and all black cloths sitting on a bench just feet away. "Hey you ", he said with agitation clear in his voice. The boy turned quickly to see who was there. "You're Yui right?"

Yui nearly flinched at the mention of his name. He had heard his name called in such a voice before and it was never pleasant. "Am I supposed to know you?", he asked in a flat tone as he stood from his seat.

"No you're supposed to be at home waiting for me." The man's words broke Yui's defensive wall as he realized why the man was there.

"Wait you're the one who's come to get me for testing?"

"Yes and I've wasted enough enough time searching for you so let's go." The man crossed his arms as if to make his point even sharper.

'I should have figured they would send someone strict', Yui thought while mentally scolding himself for thinking it was a good idea to explore. He knew he should had stayed home and now the man was already on edge with him. "I need to get some things first." He spoke just enough for the raven haired man to hear and prayed he wouldn't be scolded for wasting more time.

"Are they essential?" The man's voice was leaning more toward boredom now.

"Yes", Yui responded promptly.

"Fine I'll just wait here." He sat and Yui didn't know what to tell him.

"But I.." Yui's voice was too low to hear.

"What are you waiting for?", the man's blue eyes locked onto his green ones.

"I don't know the way back", Yui confessed feeling pathetic. 'What kind of shinobi gets lost so easy?' The man's only complaint was a sigh as he stood and told Yui to follow him. He lead him straight back to his front door with ease. As he unlocked the door Yui politely offered for him to wait inside, just to get another reminder of the man's annoyance.

"Just be quick", he complained as he picked up Yui's book on water jutsu and started thumbing through it. Yui was quick to grab the belt with his gourd and fasten it around his waist. Upon reaching for his bandages to wrap his leg, the man spoke up stopping him in his tracks. "Don't bother with that. Yui can use the tools at the academy.. unless yours are special in some way." Yui hadn't even seen him look up from the book he was scanning and made note that the man was observant.

"They're not special", Yui mumbled half lost in thought. 'I need to be careful around him. Even when it doesn't seem so, he's watching.'

"So are you ready?" The jounin finally looked up snapping the book shut.

"Yes sir", Yui jumped out of his inner thoughts at the thud.

"Just call me Kazuki sensei", said the jounin as he rose from the couch and made his way to the door. He felt odd announcing himself in such a way. He didn't really care to be a mentor and honestly didn't want such a job. Baby sitting was a job for genin, not jounin. "Pay attention so you don't get lost again", he told the young genin before they had even left the apartment complex.

"Yes Kazuki sensei", Yui replied unenthusiastically. 'Great now he probably thinks I'm a idiot and a burden. Why did I have to go explore today.' As they walked Yui did his best to remember different stores or features that might remind him which roads to take. They had only made a few turns when they came to a stop.

"This is Konohagakure's shinobi academy. You'll be taking todays test here", Kazuki announced at their arrival. They didn't stop for long before making their way to an unused classroom on the first floor. "You'll take the written test first. It's already been laid out for you." Yui's eyes followed the trail of his pointing finger to lock on the small stack of papers centered on the long desk at the front of the room. He made his way quickly, having already realized the man in charge had no sense of patience today, and slid onto the bench seat to start his written test.

The test wasn't excessively hard like he imagined but it was dreadfully boring. After the second page he heard a noise. He looked up to see Kazuki silently reading a book at the front of the class and wondered what he might be reading when the sound came again and pulled his attention to the window. It was laughter. There were kids running and joking around outside, no doubt the next generation of shinobi in the village. He wished he could throw his test away and just go out to enjoy the day too when he heard the sound of a throat clearing to speak. "Get back to work." And he did for the last two pages. They seemed even longer than the first two.

Finally he was done and stood to take his papers to the jounin at the front. 'I hope I did ok. Some of the questions were really hard', he thought with his tired brain as he waited for the results. 'He looks as bored as I am', Yui noted to himself as he watched Kazuki scan the last page. He just couldn't seem to make up his mind on the impression the man gave off.

"Ok next up we'll test your weapon skills. Do you need anything besides shuriken and kunai?"

"No just those", Yui replied finally starting to relax. The weapons test took no time at all as he hit the bullseye on the target with every weapon, winning himself a few young admirers from the class exercising.

'He seems pretty average so far', Kazuki thought to himself, 'Average test score and good weapon aim.' "Now I need you to display some jutsu for me." He waved his hand signaling for Yui to follow him to the empty section of field. "Start with the basics. Show me two clones." Yui did it with ease making two copies of himself appear on either side. Kazuki seemed unimpressed. "Transformation next." Yui did again as he asked transforming both clones along with himself into a trio of bored looking kazuki. "Ok now show me some of your own jutsu."

'Here we go', Yui thought to himself. He would have to release his clones and transform back into his normal self all at once to make it look like he ended all the jutsu. When he pulled it off he couldn't help but grin. All he had to do now was pass his water off as a normal justu, but of course he would display his fire first in hopes he wouldn't need to show his water at all. With ease he weaved the familiar signs and then took a deep breath expelling his chakra laden air through his finger tips to create a giant torch like flame reaching out 10 feet.

"With that grin I expected something bigger but that's still good. Show me another." Yui wasn't sure if Kazuki was trying to put him down or praise him with his words but he was too focused to analyze them. He had to remember the signs he had practiced the night before. He popped the cork off of his gourd and readied himself. 'Hmm? That's similar to what the Kazekage carries', Kazuki quickly noted as Yui now weaved his handsigns trying to keep them smooth so they didn't appear clumsy. When he stopped on the sign of the dragon water floated from his gourd and propelled forward like a high powered hose. "Let me see that again", Kazuki demanded in an odd voice.

'Shit does he know?!' Yui was beyond nervous. It would be bad enough if he knew but to find out that Yui was trying to hide it would probably make him even more angry with him. 'I can't just call my wanter back or it will give it away. I'll have to go over and use it from the ground', he deduced running over to where his water had formed puddles on the ground. He did the handsigns again with more effort this time to quell his nerves and keep from making a mistake, reenacting the hose like technique. As he waited for feedback his anxiety didn't budge an inch until finally there was a response.

"I've never seen that jutsu before", Kazuki told him with narrow, attentive eyes. 'Something's not right about it.'

"Oh is that so.. heh I.. learned it in a different village", Yui stumbled nervously with his words, hoping the conversation would drop and it did, but not in Kazuki's mind.

'He doesn't want to tell me. That's fine. I'll figure it out eventually', he decided as if it were a puzzle challenging him. "Well done. Are there any other jutsu you want to show me?"

"Do I have to?", Yui nearly groaned. He was already on edge about having to show his water a second time. He didn't want to tempt fate with a third attempt.

"No. That will do for now", Kazuki replied as if he would rather be elsewhere. "Tomorrow we will have the team assessment. Koji will be there too. You met him yesterday."

"Will that be here too?", asked Yui, confident he could find his way back again.

"No I'll send Koji to get you in the morning so you can go now", he started to walk away before adding, "This time don't get lost."

'He's really not a talker. Must have somewhere else to be', Yui thought to himself as he scanned the area before calling his water back to his gourd. He made his way home remembering all the markers for him to turn and thinking about the days events. 'Maybe I should wash up before bed.' As soon as the thought passed through his mind he remembered what Koji had told him. He had no shower of his own which meant one thing: Public bath.

Yui tried and tried to get up the nerve to go but the thought of being in a room naked with a bunch of other guys just weighed too heavy. In the end he resigned himself to taking a sponge bath, washing away the nerve wracking thoughts with a rag before crawling into his bed for the night. He slept rather soundly as his dreams replayed a distorted view of his previous day, from getting lost, to children playing, to the nervousness he had when Kazuki had asked him to repeat his jutsu.

It was at that point when he woke to a series of loud bangs. He opened his eyes with a jolt as the light coming through the window made his retinas ache. What time was it? Through squinted eyes he peaked out to see the sun hanging low above the village. "It's too early for visitors", he groaned but he didn't have much of a choice. He let the curtain fall and walked lazily as the pounding continued, not stopping until he clicked the deadbolt lock. The face that greeted him, like the sun, was too bright for this early morning.

"Hey what took you so long!", an excited Koji chirped to the dismay of Yui's ears. To make it clear he pulled his hands quickly up to cover them as he shot the brown haired ball of energy a disapproving look.

"What are you doing here? It's too early for you to be this wound up", Yui grumbled as he held his hands firmly in place, awaiting the next outburst.

"Just hurry and get ready", Koji ordered as he pushed his way into the living room.

"Seriously?", Yui closed the door behind him. "It's like 6 AM." Koji who had been looking around turned back to the white haired genin and crossed his arms. When he spoke it was low and flat.

"It's 8:30." His sudden change in attitude made Yui look like a child throwing a tantrum but he didn't care. He rubbed his eyes and gave a big yawn before asking again why the boy was at his house. "Didn't Kazuki sensei tell you I would be coming? We have our team test today."

Yui who had been stretching flinched as he recalled Kazuki saying just that. "I forgot", he muttered as his arms sunk back to his sides.

"Yeah I know", Koji sat and waved his arm at him. "Hurry up and get dressed. Kazuki sensei won't be happy if we're late." With a grumbled complaint, Yui did as the other boy told him and when he returned to the living room he was rushed out the door before he even had a chance to eat.

Yui was still half asleep as they made their way from roof to roof toward where ever it was that Koji was leading them. He wondered for a moment if people would be mad at them for using the tops of their houses like a highway but as he looked around he could see others in the distance doing the same. After coming to the conclusion it must be normal, he let his thoughts trail on the sights of the village moving beneath him until they reached the woods.

As they walked the trail through the trees they slowed their pace. Yui could see someone up ahead coming into the distance. It was a girl leaning on a tree as she moved things about in her unattached hip pouch. He had just started to get a good look at her when Koji startled him with his new found burst of energy.

"Good morning Kitsura!" Koji shot ahead of Yui, his hand raised in greeting.

"Hey Koji", she replied and as she turned , the beams of light flickering through the shifting trees made her long hair glow brilliantly gold. Not the ugly yellow color most think of but a soft, warm glow ever so gently tinted and glistening from the sun. As her light blue eyes focused on Yui, who was trailing behind him, she cocked her head a bit in curiosity. "Who's that?"

Koji made a glance back to him before he shut his eyes in a huge grin. "This is Yui, our 3rd team member."

Kitsura proceeded to give the new boy a good look over before she smiled a grin which made him nervous. "Well you don't look so bad", she told him surprising both boys as she popped her eyebrows up playfully.

"Hey don't hit on him right in front of me!", Koji shot the words out as fast as his brain could think them.

"Why not? It's not like we're dating and we both know it was a joke", she told him in her defense.

The two continued to go back and forth on the topic but Yui wasn't paying any attention to their words now. He was still caught up on the part about being their third member. The way he saw it, if the team was already planned out then the jounin leader must be too. "If the three of us are a squad then who is our jounin sensei?", he asked before realizing he was interrupting the two.

They both gave him a look as if questioning his intelligence before Kitsura finally answered. "Kazuki sensei.. Haven't you met him already?"

"Of course he has", Koji blurted, "He did a placement test yesterday."

Yui could see the two were about to start arguing again when he spoke up to clear his intelligence level. "So you don't get to pick here in the leaf?" Surely that simple question would explain the confusion he thought. Kitsura seemed to understand right away.

"The higher ups try to pick teams that will work best together", she explained and then added a question. "Where are you from that you would pick your sensei?" It was a fair question. Yui came from a place where they had a say on the matter while Koji and Kitsura were from a village where these things were decided for them. It was understandable that the situation see odd to both parties.

Yui opened his mouth to answer her question but before he could Koji spoke up and in a nonchalant tone he informed her that he had come from Sunagakure.

"Oh like how you came from the mist?", Kitsura asked suddenly surprising them for the second time in the last five minutes.

"Sure I guess", Koji replied in a grumble, "but I really wish you would quit telling everyone that." He seemed to be annoyed now.

"I don't see why when it's common knowledge", she pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Just look at the way he's staring at me now", Koji protested as he pointed to Yui. "It's not as well known as you think it is."

At the mention of his actions Yui realized he really was staring. He had just been caught off guard by the mention of Koji being from his own original nation. Was it more common than he realized for genin to be transferred? Had Koji done something similar to end up here? These were all questions that were newly forming in his head and already they were earing away at him. He was just about to ask when a fourth voice startled them all.

"It's nice to see you're on time today", came a calm, flat voice from the tree above them. All three genin shot their eyes up to see Kazuki relaxed on a limb about 20ft up. Yui had just made out a book in his hand when he turned his eyes back down and started to feel embarrassed. Was the man never going to forget his being lost yesterday? When he started talking again Yui thought for sure he would tell the others of the incident. "It's about time you start taking this serious Koji."

Yui felt a rush of relief when he learned the comments were not being directed at him and his embarrassing mistake. He watched and waited to see how the charismatic youth would reply to the man. Yui could see a thin pink layer of blush forming on Koji's face. The boy looked away from Kazuki with a sheepish smile as his hand rubbed the back of his head, pushing his brown spikes ever forward. "The Hokage said he would start docking my pay when I'm late", he confessed.

"Well at least something can motivate you", Kazuki seemed to say to thin air as he packed the book into his pouch before leaping down to their level.

"How long have you been here sensei?" Kitsura seemed confused but her words made the two boys feel better about not being the only ones caught off guard. They really needed to be more attentive in the future.

"I've been here long enough", the man sighed and seemingly as bored as the day before he reached into his pocket to pull out two shiny brass bells that clinked against each other as he displayed them to the team. "Let's get started. I'm sure at least one of you is familiar with this test."

Kitsura recognized right away what their task would be and upon seeing the other two confused she sighed to show her disappointment. Yui was new and so he had an excuse but for Koji not to know made her feel she should lower her expectations of him. "We have to work as a team and get the bells", she told them. "It's pretty straight forward."

"So then why are there two bells? Why not just one?", Koji asked as the explanation seemed lacking to him. Kitsura looked over to their sensei as she thought about what he said. Koji had a point.

"There are two bells and three of you. Obviously you'll have to work together to have any hope of getting one before time runs out." Kazuki could feel the anticipation rising within them, which was exactly what he wanted. "And whom ever doesn't have a bell by the end", he gave a devilish smile, "will be spending all of their free time doing hard training with me." It might not seem like a hard pressing threat but for Koji and Kitsura who had friends and places to be and most of all, had heard all the rumors about Kazuki Kurosawa, it seemed like hell. And even more so for Yui who had absolutely nothing but free time. Each of them made up their minds, they HAD to have one of those bells.

'This might be tough but if I just use my water', Yui was already in his head forming a plan before he even remembered his handicap. 'Wait.. I still have to disguise it as a jutsu! Damn!' His clenched hand shot up to his mouth to think it out more clearly when his new sensei spoke and brought him back to the physical plane.

"You look like you're trying to solve an advanced math problem over there", Kazuki remarked as he shot blank eyes at him. Yui could feel his cheeks warming as he realized everyone had been watching him.

"He's so right", Koji laughed only to get smacked on the back of the shoulder by Kitsura, to which Yui decided he might actually like working with her. Maybe.

Kazuki apparently was not entertained. "Moving on. I'm giving you three until dusk to get these", he said jingling the prize in front of them. "Begin." As soon as the word left his mouth Koji sprung forward with his arm outreached for the bells. The rest of his team found themselves in awe, not at how fast he was to react or that he was doing something great but by the simple fact he thought his dash would actually work. In fact he was the only one surprised when Kazuki stepped to the side, watching him fall flat on his face. "Did you really think it would be that easy?", the black haired man mocked before departing what he himself had been told many years back. "Fight to kill or don't fight at all." With that it was abundantly clear to them. This would be their toughest fight yet.

* * *

Sorry this one took so much time. A lot has been going on with the holidays but I hope you enjoyed the read. Please send any feedback you can think of as it helps me to write and form the story more smoothly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long. I have more than 80 pages of rough draft and with in it are several gaps that I am now having to fill. Everything should go faster when I get back to my main plot. Hope you guys enjoy and I will try to be more timely :)

The challenge to acquire the bells was running late into the afternoon and not one of the genin had even managed to touch one at this point. They had each made several attempts only to be quickly shut down by their new teacher. At this point Yui could feel the frustration built up not only in himself but in the others as well. It felt impossible. Their teacher had been effortlessly holding them at bay for hours and to Yui's surprise he couldn't see a single bead of sweat on the man. If anything he looked relaxed and bored as he waited to see who would challenge him next. That made him more frustrated than anything. What should he do to get one of those bells? At this moment he was starting to think he didn't care. Right now he just wanted to wipe that dull expression off of the man's face.

"Kitsura! Koji!", he yelled out never taking his eyes off of Kazuki who seemed so disinterested as to not even acknowledge the outburst. Yui wasn't surprised that the others came when he called for them. He knew they wanted to pass as badly as he had up until a while ago. If this was the best he could do then he really did need the training and that name him only that much more determined to win. He didn't need a bell. He just needed to show what he could do, with the exception of his kekkeigenkai of course. When the other two genin stopped beside him he turned to see their questioning looks. "We need to work together if we stand a chance against him," he supplied and the reply he got from Koji was exactly what he had expected from the spike haired boy. Skepticism.

"There are only two bells", he deadpanned. "How would we even decide who gets one?" The boy then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Or would you expect one of us to fail on purpose?"

"He has a point", Kitsura chimed in with a matter of fact tone.

Yui wondered if these two really thought they were good enough to not need training. Especially after the way they had each been brushed off so easily by their sensei. Was he the only one who thought he needed more practice? The only rational one? "I don't care about the bells", he told them trying not to raise his voice in annoyance. "I know I need to train more, but I'm tired of seeing him beat us so easily."

"So you plan to fail on purpose?" Koji sounded astonished at Yui's confession.

"I plan to make him regret under estimating us. You can keep the stupid bells." There was a spark in the boys soft green eyes. A glint that told them he had thought out a plan.

By the time everyone knew their role the light of the day had started to dim. "We only have time for one last try," she told them, staring up at the pink sky.

"Good because I only have the energy for one more." Koji was holding his stomach as it made a large growl, reminding them each how hungry they were. Hungry and drained of energy. This had better work.

Kazuki wasn't quite sure what the three teens were planning as he watched them from the corner of his eye at least they were finally going to work as a team. Or so he thought until he saw Koji flail his arms about in the air. "Man this is lame", he yelled not so much at the other two but to empty space instead before he turned his back on them. "I don't need help from you guys. I'll get one of those bells on my own!" He was running now, headed straight to the front of where their sensei stood.

Kazuki was disappointed. The young ball of energy hadn't even tried for a surprise attack, instead he was screaming and rushing in on his own. He had to give him credit for guts, but sadly that was not the point of this exercise. He wanted to evaluate their team work which seemed to be nonexistent when a win didn't benefit them evenly. He would just have to drill it into them through training. One way or another they would learn the meaning of team work.

"Mud shackles", Koji yelled out. He hadn't needed to yell it out. Kazuki had seen the move earlier and recognized the signs. Before the ground below him had a chance to liquify and latch onto him, he launched himself into the air. Such a simple technique alone would never catch him. As he thought about how futile the attempt was his eyes caught sight of a grin. "Heh" The boy's grin turned to a mischievous, full faced smirk. "Ground or air, we got you now."

We. Kazuki's mind latched to the word as he his eyes darted to where the others had been, only to see a cyclone of water heading straight for him. It was fast and glowing as he watched pulses of electricity traveling through it, producing sharp cracking sounds as they hit the air and jumped back into the liquid mass. He only had a moment to react before the possibly lethal attack would hit him.

To the surprise of all three genin a wall of hardened earth shot up with lightning speed. The pillar of water and electricity hit with such force as to crack the hard surface before spreading in all directions and falling lifeless to the ground. The plan had failed but the younger three were not ready to resign just yet.

Kazuki was falling fast toward Koji's jutsu below him and with quick thinking and even quicker reflexes, he kicked the wall with force causing it to break apart. The pieces were propelled like projectiles headed for Yui and Kitsura while throwing himself out of reach of the earth style jutsu. While the two dodged the larger chunks and deflected the smaller ones, Kazuki had seemingly effortlessly flipped himself over to land hands and feet pressed to the ground not unlike a cat.

With the other two distracted it was all left to Koji. The boy was on the jounin with a flash, poised in the air ready to flip himself to bring his heel down with considerable force. Kazuki dodged the assaulting foot, rolling his head to the side and then back as it passed within an inch of him. The boy was good with his taijutsu, but not good enough. Before he could redirect the flow of his motion Kazuki reached up and grabbed him by his ankle using the already flipping motion against him. Pulling the boy's leg down and around made him land flat on his stomach, the only thing keeping him from a cracked head being his arms underneath it.

He was done. They all were. Kazuki could tell. But in truth they had actually lasted longer than he thought they would. "We're done here", he proclaimed as the last bit of light was seeping through the trees. It made everything look magical. He had not wanted a team of genin to train but looking around he could see how tired each of them were. They had started moderately early in the morning and yet here they were actually trying up to the very end, despite being exhausted both in chakra and stamina. They hadn't even stopped to eat. With such a dedicated group of young ninja maybe there just might be such a thing as magic.

"We.. failed", Koji said with disdain as he tried to catch the breath that had been thrust out of him.

Kazuki gave another look over the three young shinobi as they gathered around him, bruised and exhausted, awaiting their sentence. Yui was the only one who didn't look disappointed. As he made his way over he had what could only be called a smirk. His goal had been met despite not retrieving a bell because just as the wall of earth had risen, just before it had blocked his view. He had seen a grin replace his sensei's blank expression. He could accept more training and even recognized that he needed it, but to see his teacher look down on him would only boil his blood into action. And to his satisfaction he knew the stronger man wouldn't be able to translate the curve on his lips.

"So so not that we failed when do we start your hellish training?" Yui was feeling pretty confident and surprisingly satisfied.

"Actually you three passed." The man's words were nonchalant as he pulled his book back from his pocket before grimacing and putting it away again. There was not enough light to continue where he had stopped, another reminder that his new team had pushed all the way to their deadline. He looked back up at them to see a range of emotions painted across their faces, the more lingering being surprise. "You showed me you can work as a team. Getting the bells was never the real objective." He had only threatened them with hard training to drive a wedge between them and for most of the day it seemed to work.

"Yes! We did it!", cried Koji as the boy found yet another pocket of energy. The fact he was so cheerful even when he looked bruised and beat up was a testament to how rigid he had heard Kazuki's training methods could be. Yui just couldn't believe he could still find the energy to jump around the way he was.

"So what's next sensei?" Kitsura seemed to always be on point. She didn't waste time wondering what was coming and instead asked out right, gathering all eyes back to the man in charge.

The man looked to Koji, seeing he was the worst off and asked him if he would be well enough to train the next day. The boy looked quite surprised at this. After all he had heard about the man he wondered if he would ever get a real day off but here they were. Kazuki was asking Koji if they should take a day of rest. The boy wiggled his arms, took a step forward and then shook his head. He had been assessing the damage he had taken. "I want to get stronger sensei!" The determination in his fierce grin spoke volumes as he said what all three of them were thinking.

A smile pulled at the edges of Kazuki's lips. "Next we will refine your skills." The way he worded it made the genin perk up more. He said they have skills, meaning they were skilled. "Meet me here tomorrow around noon."

"Noon? Not morning?", Kitsura questioned him.

"Yes noon. Tomorrow will use a lot of chakra so rest up." Before he could be asked any more questions he held his hand up as a sign of goodbye and poofed into a cloud before their eyes.

Yui was exhausted and so he copied his mentor's exit holding his own hand up but instead of vanishing he made his way back to the path that led him there. "Wait! Let's walk home together", he heard from behind. As the genin of endless energy ran up he sighed and have him a crooked look. "I don't live very far form you", the boy explained causing Yui to give in. He was in too good a mood to really be annoyed.

At some point during the dragging walk home Koji had introduced the topic of going to the bath house. "Come on I want to hear more about the sand village", Koji pleaded giving his best impression of puppy dog eyes. He really shouldn't though. He was terrible at it.

"I've.. never been to a bath house." Yui could feel the heat rising up to his cheeks. "Is it weird?" He had never needed to visit a public bath when he lived in the sand. His apartment there had it's own bath and the thought of others seeing him so exposed made him anxious. Luckily Koji didn't let his mind wander too far.

"You've never been to one?" Koji almost sounded to be in disbelief. "You must have had it good back in your old village." The brown haired boy watched as the other's lightly flushed cheeks lost there color and a grimace replaced the sheepish smile. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about his previous home. "Too soon huh?", Koji asked to receive a nod. "Fine then I won't ask about it but come with me to the baths and I'll show you around." 

After a few moments of debating with himself Yui agreed to go. He couldn't keep doing sponge baths at home forever and at least this way he would not be going alone. He would need some cloths though and so they made several stops before reaching the white haired boy's apartment building. Just drop off a few things and they would be ready to go.

"So.. does everyone just walk around naked?" Yui had become so nervous that the words couldn't be contained. Koji on the other hand had no clue what was going on as the topic had been dropped a good while back.

"Huh??"

Yui could feel his face turning red. He hadn't meant to actually ask. It was just a concern he had. "At the bath house", he clarified quickly.

The boy in front of him burst into laughter as he relaxed. It was just what Yui needed to relax a bit himself. When the spikey haired boy could speak again he had a hint of a teasing tone. "I guess some do. But most keep a towel around their waist."

"And changing?" Yui was finally feeling better about asking the other these questions. Why had he not done this earlier?

"You can go into one of the changing rooms if you're shy", Koji told him with a smile.

"Right thanks. Uh hang on just a minute" Yui ran off into the other room to check himself and make sure his transformation was solid. When he felt ready he reappeared to Koji giving him a quizzical look. Upon a sheepish smile from Yui the other boy raised his shoulders and then let them drop before turning to lead the way.

Walking in now Yui didn't feel as scared. He had someone going with him to wick away some of the awkward air. His new teammate was kind showing him where to change and where to rinse off before getting into the giant warm bath. Everything was going smooth. He had even managed to keep his eyes from wandering anywhere they shouldn't be. When he finally slid into the wonderous how water, towel still secured for privacy, he felt the day's wear melt away leaving him happy and relaxing and proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've hung in this long please leave a comment and let me know what you enjoyed or where you think I could do better. I am open to all criticism XD


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